Publications and other materials used to illuminate the Background, Summary and Detailed Description of the Invention are incorporated herein by reference.
Flying disc golf games have become popular and are enjoying widespread appeal. Such games are played on courses laid out in recreational areas such as parks or college campuses. The course consists of a number of "holes," with each hole having a "tee" from which a flying disc, such as the flying disc disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,297, is thrown by each player, and a post (which serves as the "hole") positioned a selected distance from the tee. As with the traditional game of golf, the objective of the flying disc golf game is to hit the post with a disc with the shortest number of throws of the disc; the player with the lowest score over the entire course is the winner.
In the game, however, visual obstacles such as trees often create frustration for the player in that such obstacles are usually located between the tees and their respective posts. It is therefore necessary to ensure by means other than visual observation that each impact between a disc and post is accurately determined.
Accordingly, flying disc entrapment devices for use in this game and which are designed to capture a disc which impacts a post have been described in the art. Reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,039,189 and 4,461,484 for examples of such devices. However, while these devices may perform in accordance with the stated objective of their respective descriptions, these devices are not without limitations and drawbacks that detract from, rather than promote, the amusement value of this game.
For example, the Flying Disc Entrapment Assembly described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,484, while designed to be utilized in conjunction with smaller and heavier discs (e.g. 21 centimeters in diameter and about 145 grams in weight), nevertheless does not always capture these discs. Such discs, when thrown, have enough kinetic energy to separate the chains, miss the post and exit through the chains on the other side of the entrapment basket. Additionally, since the chains are gathered at the lower end of the entrapment region, a smaller target area at the lower end thereof is created such that a disc which may become entrapped in the chains if it is aimed at the upper portion of the assembly, may not be entrapped if aimed at the lower portion of the assembly. Furthermore, the assembly disclosed in the aforementioned patent is apparently designed for stationary use such that movement of the assembly from one location to another is not convenient.